Mortdecai

[my_elementor_php_output]

Add to the list of puckish rogues, charming ne’er-do-wells and sly adventurers played by Johnny Depp the role of , cash-strapped British aristocrat and protagonist of the new action-comedy Mortdecai. Based on the charismatic anti-hero of Kyril Bonfiglioli’s popular trilogy, Charlie Mortdecai is a professional bon vivant and occasional art dealer perpetually at the end of his financial rope.

The iconic Goya painting intrinsic to the storyline was created specifically for the film.

The iconic Goya painting intrinsic to the storyline was created specifically for the film.

Depp took his inspiration from classic English film comedians including Peter Sellers, Sid James, Bernard Cribbins and especially Terry-Thomas, the irrepressible, gap-toothed star who defined the term “upper class twit” for several generations. Charlie’s luscious blonde wife Johanna is played by Academy Award® winner Gwyneth Paltrow. British actor Paul Bettany, who plays Jock, was introduced to the project by Johnny Depp while the two were filming Transcendence. Mortdecai also marks a welcome reunion of McGregor and director , who previously collaborated on Angels & Demons.

Production designer James Merifield, an Emmy® Award winner with credits including the acclaimed British television series Little Dorrit was drawn to what he saw as a strong retro feeling in the writing of Mortdecai. “That was something I wanted to springboard into the design,” he recalls. “We should hark back to the style of movies in the 1940s and 1950s. When it became apparent that director David Koepp felt the same way, we designed with quite a few references to that era.

Merifield says he approaches his designs through character and found a wealth of inspiration in Mortdecai. Wrotham Park in the English countryside became Mortdecai Manor, the fictional English country estate that Charlie and Johanna call home. Technical requirements for some scenes meant that Merifield also built interiors at Pinewood Studios. Although the production moved from the UK to Los Angeles for key exteriors at the Standard Hotel, the interiors of the trendy West Hollywood boutique hotel were shot on D Stage at Pinewood.

Although Mortdecai is a comedy, it is packed with action sequences, as Jock constantly saves Charlie from outlandish mishaps. Stunt coordinator and second-unit action director, Rowley Irlam coordinated a motorbike and sidecar careening through Moscow, an unforgettable sword fight and a massive explosion sequence featuring virtually all of the key cast members. One of the most challenging stunt sequences for Irlam and his team was the complicated sword fight between Mortdecai and Emil.

According to composer Geoff Zanelli, David Koepp created “a two-headed monster” when he asked Zanelli to partner with musician, producer and DJ Mark Ronson to create the score for Mortdecai. “David wanted a combination of the sound Mark created on his “Version” album and the through music he knew he could rely on me for,” says Zanelli. “He said ‘I need melodies and I keep hearing Mark Ronson in this. Would you like to meet with him and see what you two can do together?’ That was an easy thing to say yes to!

Share this article: Mortdecai

Facebook
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Pinterest
Twitter
Email

MORE TOPICS

Brian Banks

The inspirational true story of Brian Banks (Aldis Hodge), an All-American high school football star with a full scholarship to USC who finds his life upended when he is wrongly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. Despite a lack of evidence, Banks is railroaded through a broken justice system and sentenced to a decade of prison and probation.

Oldboy

Spike Lee’s Oldboy kicks off with the unfathomable experience of Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin) a downward-spiraling advertising executive and absent father who, one drunken night, is kidnapped out of the blue and placed into a mind-numbing solitary confinement within a bizarre, hotel-like prison for the next 20 years

Vengeance is a French and Hong Kong co-production between Hong Kong companies Media Asia and French distributor ARP Sélection. The film was produced by Milkyway Image, the independent production company founded by director Johnnie To and screenwriter Wai Ka-Fai

Vengeance

Vengeance is a 2009 neo-noir crime film directed by Johnnie To from a screenplay written by Wai Ka-Fai. A co-production between Hong Kong and France, the film stars Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Testud, Simon Yam, Anthony Wong, Lam Suet and Lam Ka-Tung.

Jason Bourne

Matt Demon returns to his most iconic role in Jason Bourne. Paul Greengrass, the director of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, once again joins Damon for the next chapter of Bourne franchise, which finds the CIA’s most lethal former operative drawn out of the shadows.

You Again was completed on April 3, 2010.

You again

You Again is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and written by Moe Jelline. It stars Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman and Betty White. The film was released September 24, 2010

The film was formally launched on 2 August 2010 at the AVM Studios in Vadapalani, Chennai in a simple manner, following which the film's shooting commenced with the principal photography. The first schedule of filming is expected to take place by the 5th September 2010.

Mankatha

Mankatha is a Indian Tamil action, comedy and thriller film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu. It star Ajith Kumar in the lead role, making it his 50th film, along with Nagarjuna, Manoj Manchu, Ganesh Venkatraman and Premji Amaren. The film, to be produced and distributed by Dhayanidhi Alagiri’s Cloud Nine Movies, was formally launched in August 2010 and is expected to release the following year.